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The Market

Government figures show the housing market continues to slow. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) says the average UK house price in November fell 0.1% to £180,226. Typical figures were £192,713 in England, £139,544 in Wales, £116,543 in Scotland and £111,314 in Northern Ireland. Annual house price inflation across the UK was 13.8%. ODPM figures are based on a 25% sample of sales.

An average home costs more than £100,000 in every part of the UK except for Scotland, where it is £99,056, according to the Halifax bank. The next cheapest region is Northern Ireland, at £113,707. Greater London remains the most expensive area with a typical price of £241,670. The bank predicts values across the UK will fall by an average of 2% in 2005.

The price of expensive country houses fell 1.1% in December. The largest regional drop was in northern England, where prices fell 2.6%,